"Ambition?" Xiahou Tuolue shook his head. "If he doesn't have that ambition, I'm afraid he won't live long either. Now that he's on this path, does he still have a way out? If he gives up the power in his hands and loses its protection, how many people will come after him? How many people will want him dead? If he only wants to protect his current territory and develop steadily, even if he has no other intentions, the Xiahou family will not allow him to hold the Pavilion of Trust hostage forever. Once the internal situation is stabilized, we will deal with him sooner or later. Moreover, he was raised by Master Qing. Master Qing will not allow him to go out of control forever. If he doesn't obey, he will be replaced. Do you think it's so easy to take advantage of Master Qing? He has no choice but to strengthen himself to the point where no one dares to touch him. "
Wei Shu wasn't concerned about Miao Yi's life or death. He looked at him with a complicated expression and said, "Old Master, since you've already guessed that Niu Youde wants to kill Second Master, do you really have the heart to watch Second Master throw away his life like this?"
"Wei Shu!" Xiahou Tuolue's eyes flashed with pain, but it quickly disappeared. "It's not that I want him to throw his life away, but he is the one who is looking for it. How can the position of Xiahou family Patriarch be so easily taken? He wants it. If I don't give it to him, he will definitely hate me. Fine, I did as he wished and gave it to him. But after so many years, how is he doing? I did not interfere with him, nor did I help his brothers. I completely hid behind the scenes and did not use any of my influence. I treated him fairly and allowed him to do as he pleased. But even after so many years, he has not been able to consolidate the Xiahou family's power. "
Wei Shu said sorrowfully, "Old Master, you also know that someone is playing tricks. This is Niu Youde secretly sowing discord!"
"Is this a reason?" Xiahou Tuolue shook his head and sighed. "This is not a reason. This really is not a reason! Before taking that position, he should have known that he would have to face challenges, difficulties, and obstacles from others. He would have to face all kinds of open and hidden attacks. How could it be smooth sailing? How could the people inside and outside of the family allow him to do as he pleases? If he can't find out or deal with someone trying to sow discord, then he is useless! "
Wei Shu said, "Master, you can have someone else take that position. It's not a crime worthy of death! You can have Second Master retire from the Elder Council. As long as you ask, Second Master will accept it. "
Xiahou Ta: "Yes! If I am alive, everything will be fine, because I can suppress them, and they won't dare to act rashly. But what if I am dead? Second Brother would not think that he was incompetent. He would not think that it was his fault. He would not think that he did not do a good job. How could an incompetent person be incompetent? It was because he couldn't recognize his own incompetence and shortcomings that he would only look for other external factors. He would harbor resentment and think that I was the one who chased him down, that I was unfair to him. Wei Shu, do you think this kind of person can enter the clan elder council? Can you guarantee that he won't use his influence to stir up trouble after I die? Alright, even if all of this doesn't happen, do you think that the new head of the family will leave behind this trouble? If he hadn't been the head of the family, the new head could have let him go, but he has already been in that position. Those who sit in that position will either succeed or die trying. The winner is king, and the loser has no dignity to speak of. If he continued to live, even if the new head of the family let him go, he would not let his subordinates go. He would definitely eradicate all of his forces to get rid of future troubles. He would not give him any chance to make a comeback. At that time, there would definitely be a bloodbath within the family. The consequence of him living alone would be that more people would lose their lives. It might even cause a huge internal strife within the family. Wei Shu, if you were me, what would you choose? "
Wei Shu was speechless. He finally realized that the price to sit in the position of head of House Xiahou was so high. Only those who succeeded could live. Those who failed could only die. Not only did outsiders want you dead, but those within the family wanted you dead as well. Even your own father wouldn't let you go.
"Master, can't you give Second Master a chance?" Wei Shu was truly begging.
First of all, he and Xiahou Ling had been together for so many years that they had developed some feelings for each other. Even if they weren't feelings, they were at least acquaintances. Xiahou Ling had treated him well. Secondly, as a servant, how could he cold-heartedly agree to Xiahou Ling's death in front of Xiahou Ta? Naturally, he had to persuade him.
Xiahou Ta poured a cup of wine and raised it to the sky. "Why didn't I give him a chance? I watched him grow up, after all. Humans aren't plants or trees, we can't be emotionless. I guessed that Niu Youde would use Old Sixth to drive a wedge between the brothers and continue pressuring Old Third. That's why I didn't hesitate to expose my fake death to Old Sixth. I contacted Old Sixth and forced him to retreat. I forced Old Sixth to hand over his power and retire from the council of elders. I wanted Niu Youde to be wary of me. "
He downed the wine in his cup in one gulp. "Now it seems that I was too emotional. Niu Youde was like a nocked arrow on a bowstring. He had what we wanted and wasn't afraid of House Xiahou turning against him. As soon as I received your message and learned that Niu Youde had asked Old Second about the blood lotus, I knew it was over. Niu Youde still wanted to kill Old Second and had no intention of letting him go. He had already set up a trap, and Old Second fell right into it! It was laughable that Old Second wanted to pay a sudden visit and catch Niu Youde off guard. He wanted to force Niu Youde to hand over the blood lotus. Little did he know that Niu Youde had been waiting for him to pay him a visit. Niu Youde had carefully set up a trap for Old Second to stick his neck in! "
He slammed his cup and pointed at Wei Shu. "Foolish, how foolish! I had already pulled out Old Sixth to warn you, but you weren't the least bit vigilant when you couldn't get in touch with him. You were blinded by the blood lotus and wanted instant success, so you just had to jump into the trap. Tell me, was it because I didn't give him a chance, or was he in a hurry to die? How could such a person be the Clan Head? How could he lead the Xiahou Clan to brave the winds and waves and continue to advance? Could it be that he wants to lead the entire Xiahou Clan to hit the rocks and sink to the bottom? I gave him a chance, but he gave it up. If I continue to help him and allow him to continue to sit in that position, it would be unfair to my other sons. It would be like letting him drag all his brothers into the water and kill them. Tell me, should I not give up on him? "
He lifted the wine pot and continued to pour wine. His anger had already dissipated, and his tone had become calm. "Wei Shu, ever since he sat in the position of Clan Head, I have never interfered with any of his decisions. Even now, I just didn't interfere with him. He is not a three-year-old child. He made his own decisions and brewed his own bitter wine. He has to taste it himself! If he has the ability to escape from this calamity, it will be a lesson that no amount of money can buy. There will only be benefits and no harm. If he dies, it will be a huge warning to the next Clan Head … Many years ago, I had been hesitating, but in the end, I couldn't harden my heart to set up a trap for my sons and let them suffer more. Now that I don't have long to live, I can only let others teach me a lesson and pretend that I didn't see it myself! "
It turned out that Sixth Master had already been forced to leave the Clan Elders Council! Wei Shu stared at him blankly. His mind was blank as he murmured, "It's just Old Master's speculation. Second Master might still have a chance."
"When I forced Sixth Master to leave, I confirmed it with him. That year, Sixth Master indeed heard from Niu Youde that Second Master was going to make a move on his brothers and reminded Third Master and the others in time." Xiahou Ta reminded him indifferently.
Wei Shu's entire body trembled. His eyes were filled with despair as he said, "It's all Wei Shu's fault. I didn't warn Second Master in time." As he said this, he crawled away a little and kowtowed non-stop. Gradually, his face was covered in tears.
He finally understood why the Old Master had asked him to find such an excuse to avoid going with Second Master. It was because he knew that it was unlikely that he would need to explain to Second Master again. The Old Master had pulled him back at the critical moment and prevented him from going to his death.
He would rather let his own son die than let him die. It meant that in Old Master's eyes, he was more important than Old Master's son.
Since Old Master had done so much, what else could he say? He couldn't repay this great kindness and could only kowtow non-stop.
Xiahou Ta picked up his chopsticks and tasted the freshwater seafood. He didn't say anything and just accepted it. He didn't stop it either.
After a while, Wei Shu calmed down from kowtowing. He raised his head and asked, "Are we just going to watch Niu Youde's evil scheme succeed?"
Xiahou Ta's chopsticks stopped and he stared at him coldly. "Is stupidity contagious? Have you also become muddle-headed after following Second Master for so long? If I want to foil Niu Youde's evil scheme, I can kill him at any time. Just based on what he's doing now, I only need to inform Hao Defang. Will Hao Defang let him go? You have to understand that it doesn't matter to Xiahou Clan whether Hao Defang or Niu Youde occupies the southern army's territory. The biggest threat to Xiahou Clan isn't Niu Youde but that demonic monk. Niu Youde will cooperate with Xiahou Clan as long as there are benefits. What about the demonic monk? Once the demonic monk regains his true form … I know him too well. He will definitely exterminate Xiahou Clan! With the demonic monk's divine ability, once he bites, Xiahou Clan won't have any secrets to speak of. They will be uprooted and consigned to eternal damnation! Niu Youde made his move at this time. I suspected that Niu Youde had something in his hands that could help Third Master unite the hearts of Xiahou Clan. Now I know it's the legendary Blood Demon's divine herb. "
Wei Shu said, "That thief Niu is treacherous. Old Master, aren't you afraid that the divine herb is fake?"
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